Photography and Mental Health
Ever since I was a young kid I have been always been interested in how things work, how they are made and how they could be improved. I suppose then it was no surprise that I ended up being a Chartered Engineer working on state of the art aviation products. But work is not everything, or it should not be everything. It is important to have out of work interests to balance your life and provide some personal enrichment and achievement. This can be realised through participation in hobbies, sports and basically any activity that challenges you.
These days there is a lot of concern about mental health, where people experience a mind “fog” believing they have no purpose or structure to their life. Some mental health experts talk about “Mindfulness”, describing it as “consciously participating in an activity”. This participation has shown similar benefits to meditation. The drive to participate though has to come from within as I don’t think people can be told what hobby or sport to pick. You have to want to do it.
For me photography fills that need. I have been doing it so long now that the experience of taking photographs, post-processing and displaying my work has helped to reduce stress (mainly from work), and promote an element of self-esteem through achievement. Too many photographers these days look for recognition right away before they have properly learned the basic elements of photography, and get demoralised if the “likes” don’t come (see Blog Post #1). They have to understand its a journey not something that can be achieved overnight. It involves study, practice and experimentation, all of which are valuable uses of time and learning points. You soon find that motivation drives you to mentally juggle ideas and drive you to research the effect or approach you are trying to achieve. An element of order and discipline will become instilled in the photographer’s mind that will result in him/her seeing things differently, studying light and opportunities, even when they are not out with a camera.
Through the journey of experimenting, the photographer will discover their niche within photography, which may be linked to other interests. It could be nature photography for example which is a great way to get you outside and seek out photo opportunities. It could be anything, trains, planes or automobiles. Doing these things, linking interests, its a great motivator and puts you in a happy place beyond the “fog”. Travelling to locations and planning trips is good fun too and meeting new people you may want to photograph helps you to share your story and learn theirs.
It is important also to realise its not all about chasing the perfect photograph. I went through this in the past and it can be demoralising but realising photography is a marathon not a sprint helped me to put some perspective in place. I wondered why my still life’s, portraits and landscapes did not come up to what I was seeing online and in magazines. Why wasn’t I getting the same results? I soon realised that most of these guys were full time professionals with budgets and top end equipment. In many cases they had photography qualifications from universities or art colleges. They had committed to the art of photography and were at the top or near the top. I soon realised I was being deluded thinking that I could match them, me being self taught and doing it as a hobby. Once I reconciled myself to this I became a lot happier in what I do, I had found my niche in documentary/street photography and was once again fully motivated to push myself.
In taking up photography in an effort to clear the “fog”, you don’t need expensive equipment or darkrooms these days. Almost everyone has a camera phone and a laptop or desktop computer. They can post process images either in-camera or using software on their computer. Sharing this work with others, making prints and putting them up on the wall of your home is great therapy. There is no doubt photography can give you a “high” when it all comes together.
So if you feel down, and think you are in a dead-end at times, pick up your camera, make some plans and focus on your goal. This “Mindfulness” will definitely help and any photos you produce are your photos, not anyone else’s. If other people like them treat it as a bonus, you only have to please yourself but always be proud of your work.